1   King Solomon was a lover of women, and besides Pharaoh's daughter he married many foreign women, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, 2   and Hittite, from the nations with whom the Lord had forbidden the Israelites to intermarry, ‘because’, he said, ‘they will entice you to serve their gods.’ But Solomon was devoted to them and loved them dearly. 3   He had seven hundred wives, who were princesses, and three hundred concubines, and they turned his heart from the truth. 4   When he grew old, his wives turned his heart to follow other gods, and he did not remain wholly loyal to the Lord his God as his father David had been. 5   He followed Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the loathsome god of the Ammonites. 6   Thus Solomon did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord, and was not loyal to the Lord like his father David. 7   He built a hill-shrine for Kemosh, the loathsome god of Moab, on the height to the east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the loathsome god of the Ammonites. 8   Thus he did for the gods to which all his foreign wives burnt offerings and made sacrifices. 9   The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had strictly commanded him not to follow other gods; 10    but he disobeyed the Lord's command. 11   The Lord therefore said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this and have not kept my covenant

The reign of Solomon and my statutes as I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12   Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David I will not do this in your day; I will tear it out of your son's hand. 13   Even so not the whole kingdom; I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.’

14   Then the Lord raised up an adversary for Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the royal house of Edom. 15   At the time when David reduced Edom, his commander-in-chief Joab had destroyed every male in the country when he went into it to bury the slain. 16   He and the armies of Israel remained there for six months, until he had destroyed every male in Edom. 17   Then Hadad, who was still a boy, fled the country with some of his father's Edomite servants, intending to enter Egypt. 18   They set out from Midian, made their way to Paran and, taking some men from there, came to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who assigned Hadad a house and maintenance and made him a grant of land. 19   Hadad found great favour with Pharaoh, who gave him in marriage a sister of Queen Tahpenes his wife. 20   She bore him his son Genubath; Tahpenes weaned the child in Pharaoh's house, and he lived there along with Pharaoh's children. 21   When Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his forefathers and that his commander-in-chief Joab was also dead, he said to Pharaoh, ‘Let me go so that I may return to my own country.’ 22   ‘What is it that you find wanting in my country’, said Pharaoh, ‘that you want to go back to your own?’ ‘Nothing,’ said Hadad, ‘but do, pray, let me go.’ 25   He remained an adversary for Israel all through Solomon's reign. This ^note is the harm that Hadad caused: he maintained a strangle-hold on ^note Israel and became king of Edom. ^note

23   Then God raised up another adversary against Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24   He gathered men about him and became a captain of freebooters, ^note who came to Damascus and occupied it; he ^note became king there.

26    ^noteJeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's courtiers, an Ephrathite from Zeredah, whose widowed mother was named Zeruah, rebelled against the king. 27   And this is the story of his rebellion. Solomon had built the Millo and closed the breach in the wall of the city of his father David. 28   Now this Jeroboam was a man of great energy; and Solomon, seeing how the young man worked, had put him in charge of all the labour-gangs in the tribal district of Joseph. 29   On one occasion Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him on the road. The prophet was wrapped in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30   Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak

The reign of Solomon he was wearing, 31   tore it into twelve pieces and said to Jeroboam, ‘Take ten pieces, for this is the word of the Lord the God of Israel: “I am going to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes. 32   But one tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33   I have done this because Solomon has ^note forsaken me; he has ^note prostrated himself before Ashtoreth goddess of the Sidonians, Kemosh god of Moab, and Milcom god of the Ammonites, and has ^note not conformed to my ways. He has not done what is right in my eyes or observed my statutes and judgements as David his father did. 34   Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom from him, but will maintain his rule as long as he lives, for the sake of my chosen servant David, who did observe my commandments and statutes. 35   But I will take the kingdom, that is the ten tribes, from his son and give it to you. 36   One tribe I will give to his son, that my servant David may always have a flame burning before me in Jerusalem, the city which I chose to receive my Name. 37   But I will appoint you to rule over all that you can desire, and to be king over Israel. 38   If you pay heed to all my commands, if you conform to my ways and do what is right in my eyes, observing my statutes and commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will establish your family for ever as I did for David; I will give Israel to you, 39   and punish David's descendants as they have deserved, but not for ever.”’

40   After this Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak in Egypt and remained there till Solomon's death.

41    ^noteThe other acts and events of Solomon's reign, and all his wisdom, are recorded in the annals of Solomon. 42   The reign of King Solomon in Jerusalem over the whole of Israel lasted forty years. 43   Then he rested with his forefathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and he was succeeded by his son Rehoboam.

Previous section

Next section